With a recent grant from Trinity Health, Mercy Medical Center’s Community Health and Wellbeing Department (CHWB) supported our partners, Public Health Institute of Western Mass, Fresh Paint Springfield, Blues to Green/Jazz and Roots Festival, and community residents to create a mural celebrating their work to increase awareness of the inequities of climate change through the Climate Justice Coalition.
The painting depicts Brendaliz Cepeda, a Bomba y Plena dancer with the local dance company, Bomba de Aqui. The mural also features plants that are native to Puerto Rico. These plants, which purify the air, are significant because Springfield was once ranked as “Asthma Capital” of the United States by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. The city’s ranking has now dropped down to 12th place, thanks in part to community efforts to address respiratory health needs.
The mural is located on a building at 470 Chestnut Street in Springfield, just around the corner from Mercy Medical Center. Mercy’s CHWB team is grateful to Trinity Health for the grant that made it possible to create the mural. You can learn more about the project here: Climate Justice Mural with Fresh Paint Springfield Unveiled.
Submitted by Danielle Champagne, CHWB, Mercy Medical Center.
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